Disney World advice thread

My wife wants to take the kids to Disney World. They will be 5 and 8 when we go, in late March. I have long resisted this trip. I have no interest in it whatsoever. There are thousands of great places to visit on this third rock from the sun, and spending a minute in this particular locale sounds like hell to me.

But if I ever want to go skiing again, if I ever want to make a NASCAR or IndyCar or MLB road trip again ... I have to bite the bullet.

I'm sure some of you have bitten this particular bullet, too.

So ... what are your thoughts? How much do I need to save? Where should I stay? How do I make this as painless as possible?

 

Disney Springs area is way cheaper and has full shuttle service. I think we stayed at a Best Western (it was either that or a Holiday Inn, an old school circle hotel). I wouldn't really recommend that property unless you're way into bargain-basement hotels, but it was clean and got the job done. Disney Springs area is a walk-up mall that's outside the grounds, so prices are maybe a bit higher than normal retail but not amusement park pricing.

Epcot was the best place (kids 8 and 4 at the time). Book a long day there. Magic Kingdom obviously good too. Kids weren't all that crazy about the Hollywood park.

 

Are all-park passes the way to go? Or designate a day for each park and save money that way?

 

If you must go ... Make. A. Plan. The idea of planning how you're going to spend your time at an amusement park is nonsense, I know. But if you don't you're going to wind up wandering around that fucking place all day long. Also, we shelled out for a "Character Lunch" at one of the restaurants, which was a big thrill for the kids. It was nice for the adults because at least we got to sit down in semi-peace for a little while.

My advice would be to go to Disney Land instead. We went when the youngest was about 7 and found it to be far more approachable in scale. Further, it's much more easily accessed from affordable hotels in the vicinity. Plus, it's SoCal, so you can maybe sneak in a couple of non-Disney excursions.

But no matter how much you save, it won't be enough.

I write all this having been to Disney World just once, when the oldest was 6 and the middle one was 3 (youngest wasn't on the scene yet). Was supposedly a slow time (the weekend before Thanksgiving) but I'll be damned if it looked slow to me ... and if that ain't slow, I sure as hell don't want to see not-slow.

One afternoon we were in some fast-food court, amidst the throng of screaming kids waiting for their chicken strips and fries, and the look on the adults, of all ages, was perhaps the grimmest I've ever seen outside a funeral. Then it occurred to me that I looked like that, and I started laughing my ass off. MommaQuant asked, "What's with you?" "Look at these people! We look just like 'em!" She started laughing, too.

The drunk we pitched in the hotel that night was pretty fun.

 

We just did the 3-day/3-park thing. Didn't look into all-parks. I think any trip from one park to the next would have killed the momentum of the day.

Agree with dq about making a plan. The FastPass reservations start filling up ridiculously early, like weeks (months?) ahead of time.

 

"If you've never been to Disney, just imagine you're standing in line at a DMV on the surface of the sun, and ... that's it."

 

Disneyworld advice?

 

This feels like a fucking death march.

 

I know your wife will never go for my top piece of advice -- pull your kids out of school to go.

If you go during a school vacation, you're fucked.

Plan to get to the parks early, but also plan to go back to your hotel before your kids melt down. It will exhaust them.

And, have a plan and expectations for what they can buy. Every damn ride makes you exit through a gift shop, so unless you've discussed this ahead of time with your kids, they will want stuff, you will resit, they will cry, and you'll be the bad guy, instead of the guy who just took your family on a fun, expensive vacation, that you would have preferred to have spent elsewhere.

 

YF, stop reading.



Dick Whitman...hello

A Rough Guide to Disney World